Friday, December 22, 2006


West Will Turn Turkmenistan Into Base To Pressure Iran
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Courtesy Of: Regnum News Agency
December 22, 2006

Saparmurat Niyazov was one of key factors of stability in Central Asia. With his death, the USA will have an opportunity to play the “Turkmen card” to exert pressure upon Iran and Afghanistan, Member of Novosibirsk Regional Council (Russia’s Liberal Democratic Party), PhD Anatoly Kubanov said to a REGNUM correspondent on December 21.

“Of course, Niyazov was a cult figure. Thanks to vast gas resources he established favorable living conditions [in the country]. 4.5 million Turkmens lived almost under the Communism, comparing to living conditions in neighboring countries,” Kubanov said. According to him, the Turkmenbashi pursued a strategy of “armed neutrality” and established an effective army focusing on air defense forces. The Turkmen leader was known in Iran and Afghanistan. “Thanks to an agreement with the Taliban, the situation on the Turkmen-Afghan border was peaceful.”

“Now, if the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other agencies do not start working actively in Ashgabat, the West will try to turn Turkmenistan into a base for a sudden attack on Afghanistan and Iran, for pressure upon those two states,” the MP noted.

As REGNUM reported earlier, death of the Turkmen president, Saparmurat Niyazov, 66, was announced today. According to the Turkmen state television, the death was caused by a sudden cardiac arrest.

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